Nine dead in Iraq attacks as unrest spikes

BAGHDAD : Attacks across Iraq, including in the normally peaceful south, killed nine people Monday after unrest a day earlier left 40 dead, the latest in a protracted surge in nationwide bloodshed. The violence comes as political leaders jostle to build alliances amid what is expected to be a months-long period of government formation following April elections. A spate of bombs went off around Baghdad and in restive Salaheddin province Monday, as well as in Najaf and Dhi Qar in the typically quiet Shiite-dominated south, officials said.In the deadliest attack, three soldiers were killed by a suicide attacker who detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in Tarmiyah, just north of the capital.